A Moment of Peace
by Nanauk
Summary: A short one shot about Laurence's reaction to Granby's revelation in Crucible of Gold. Spoilers up until that point. Laurence/Granby Iskierka/Temeraire implied. All characters belong to Naomi Novik


"No, Laurence—I—I am an invert"

Of course upon hearing these words, Laurence had spoken of duty, which is what was required and he would not infringe into another man's privacy. But he could not ignore the pang of heat felt burning upon his breast when he heard of Granby's relations with Little. The same unaccustomed feeling that had troubled him upon hearing Iskierka's absurd plan to marry off her captain to the Sapa Inca. He had not indulged himself to consider what these feelings meant, it was not his duty to consider his personal stance in any matter of the state. Especially not when such great benefit to his country was to be gained. But now that sensation was stronger, threatening to make its way into his everyday mind state and no doubt Temeraire would notice and try to interfere. With his best interest at heart of course but still, his dragon was a romantic at heart and would understand none of his reservations. And of course, even with his whispering, Iskierka would overhear then there would be no hiding his predicament. No, he could not mention this to anyone, the appropriate and in fact only thing to do was to quench these feelings before they could grow.

Thankfully Temeraire provided distraction in his increasingly violent feelings towards Maila. These had to be kept in check, any action on his part towards the Inca dragon would be seen as an act of War. Therefore he spent all of his spare time in his dragon's company, either reading to him from their tattered copy of Principia Mathematica or listening to his endless rants upon philosophy and politics that Laurence found impossible to follow. Better still that than his preening behaviour whenever Iskierka was near, only becoming greater when Maila was present. Laurence was unaware of any affection his dragon felt towards her, however his sharp replies when questioned would indicate otherwise. He was certainly so used to Iskierka's begging for an egg from him that jealousy would be strong. The dragoness had abandoned her country to follow him to New South Wales so it was not an absurd thought to imagine her having affection for the older dragon. At least she had dragged poor Granby with her, providing Laurence with a comrade on the long journey and following tribulations. He would not pry any further on whatever relationship Temeraire shared with Iskierka, it was not his place, and had no immediate effect upon his duty so would let time give an answer and be there only if his dragon requested it.

Soon it was time for the dreaded meeting with the Empress and the usual objections to Temeraire forcing upon him his finest robe, this time his dragon had responded to the suggestion of the Empress wishing to marry him instead and his jealous nature allowed him to escape the finery. Yet still his dragon gazed wistfully at Granby's grand red coat. Laurence thought it looked preposterous and only highlighted the captain's perpetual sunburn but nonetheless Iskierka wished for it and there was no arguing when she had set her mind upon a course.

Laurence hated to see the dejected look upon Granby's face and the way that despite his best intentions to conceal it, the subtle hunch in his shoulders suggesting he had already succumbed to the likelihood of his fate. Laurence wished for nothing more than the simple qualms of battle where he and Granby had once thought back to back, the touch of the other evidence enough that they would prevail against the present but fleeting adversary. He longed to simply brush his hand across Granby's back, a silent reassurance that he cared and hoped for a better outcome than the one at hand. Although he would refuse to admit it even to himself, he would be dissatisfied to leave his friend behind; he had grown used to his informal ways that contrasted so well with the stiffness of his person.

Laurence was awoken from his wondering mind by the startling news that Lien had been sighted approaching. This immediately put an end to the proceedings as Napoleon himself landed. He had brought Flammes-de-Gloire with him so evidently wished to impress upon Maila the benefits of them providing an egg instead of Iskierka. Napoleon himself prevailed to speak directly to Laurence, with his charisma it was difficult to avoid falling into conversation with him and so he was confined to this discussion until Hammond managed to release him with his usual tact for being rude without giving offense.

Once back in their clearing amidst Hammond's nervous pacing, Granby sought his company, clearly relieved by the situation and spoke with little finesse about his joy for escaping the alleged proposal. So much so that he sunk to ground upon his precious cloak, thankfully Iskierka was so preoccupied by her situation with Maila that she did not notice this disrespect thus her captain was spared from her condemnation. Laurence lowered himself to the ground next to his friend and shared in his relief no matter how much he should wish otherwise for his country. In this moment all he cared for was his friend's happiness so he simply revelled in the moments of peace before the upcoming storm arrived. He could not ignore the tingling pleasure that Granby's shoulder against his own provided so shifted closer to him, with warmth swelling in his chest he realised what those pangs had been; jealousy so similar to that which his dragon had been feeling and yet alien to him all the same.

After the meeting with the Empress and the strained dinner, they returned to their clearing in a low state of mood. The reality of the situation in which the Inca could become their adversary with their huge dragon force had sunk in, despite his earlier revelation Laurence now felt the weight of their failure as his own so retreated to the crest of a low hill where he could gaze upon his dragon and therefore hope to distance himself from the reality of the circumstances. He watched as Temeraire spoke with Iskierka, clearly in some irritation and then surprised observed them rise together and fly off into the mountains. He imagined that they must have gone off to hunt although couldn't imagine why when they had just eaten so grand a meal, he only hoped they hadn't flown off to settle a disagreement, he couldn't imagine who would come off worse if they duelled. Although of course he would never reveal this to Temeraire, he did not know how Iskierka's fire would go against Temeraire's divine wind.

Soon his thoughts drifted, with the warm sunlight upon his back and a gentle breeze tousling his hair he was at ease, similar to the feeling when standing at the stern of the Reliant long before any worries of politics had entrenched themselves into his life. Still he wouldn't wish to return to those days, he couldn't imagine his life without the enrichment of Temeraire's company and to have never experienced the serenity of a lone flight aboard his dragon.

He was roused from his thoughts by the sound of soft footsteps approaching him up the hill. He looked to see Granby approaching, his brow gleaming from the exertions of climbing the hill with locks of his brown hair plastered against his skin. With his warm smile of greeting, he set himself down next to Laurence, so close that he felt the heat coming off his body but not so near that they were touching. Together they admired the view before them, the magnificent Incan empire sprawling before them, the queerly feathered dragons flying to and fro on whatever duty they had undertaken, not a word was exchanged between the two men, they simply enjoyed each other's company in the brief interlude between the chaoses of their mission.

Laurence thought back to all the times he had spent with Granby, from their icy beginnings to the simple reassurance of having a friend when enduring the many months aboard various ships. Even now Granby was captain of his own fiery dragon, Laurence knew that he could always rely on him, regardless of current situation; they had each other's back. At perhaps the lowest part of his life, after his treason, Granby was there for him, a rock amidst the endless tempestuous sea of life. It was then that he realised the true reason for his jealousy, he saw Granby as more than just a friend, while he may only visit Jane for physical pleasures, he experienced much more by just sitting next to Granby. But there was Little, he had no notion of the extent of their relations and could never broach the subject to his friend.

"Will, I can see your mind ticking over from here, what is bothering you?" Granby said, once again distracting him from his thoughts.

"How ever is it that you see straight through me John?" he replied tentatively, avoiding the subject.

"Through years spent dragged across the world in your acquaintance" Granby remarked with a chuckle.

"It certainly doesn't help that your dragon insists upon following Temeraire wherever he goes, I dare say she would follow us to the end of the earth and perhaps even beyond."

"Well you know it is not against my best interests, there are benefits to me in her stubbornness" Granby replied with a blush just visible against his sunburnt cheeks.

Laurence was struck dumbfounded by this response; he could not imagine any reason Granby would enjoy his dragon's repulsive attitude. So he responded with a perplexed questioning glance at his friend.

In response to this Granby took his hand into his own, sending quivers down his spine before clearly thinking better of it and withdrawing. With an instant of impetuosity very much out of character, Laurence grabbed Granby's hand and asked of his relations with Little.

"Why that was only an act of convenience, no bond was formed and we had no affections, he was simply there when I needed physical comfort." Granby replied glancing at Laurence with a questioning gaze. "Pray Will you must have known, I would be just as willing as Iskierka to follow you across the world, my affections lie with you although I could not know whether you felt the same way or were even inclined to make that possible" Granby stated with unfamiliar hesitance. He looked so vulnerable in that moment that Laurence gently pulled his face towards his own and pressed their lips together. Completely unfamiliar feelings overwhelmed Laurence, the heat spreading across his skin and an immense pleasure unlike anything else threatened to overwhelm him. He had never felt anything of the sort before and when he felt Granby smiling against his lips, he felt fit to explode.

When their lips finally parted, the delight in Granby's eyes was so bright that Laurence knew in that moment that he loved the man. He never expected himself capable of loving a dragon and certainly not of having affections for another man yet here he was with a fellow captain's hand clasped in his own, in the midst of political challenges, half way across the world and feeling a sense of home like never before.

"I dread to hear Iskierka's reaction when she hears of this Will but regardless my love for you can endure any obstacle" Granby said.

"And no doubt our love will endure many with your short tempered beast and mine who won't be at peace until there is a dragon representative in Parliament" replied Laurence with an affectionate grin at the thought.

"Granby why ever are you holding Laurence's hand?" Iskierka shouted accusingly from above, "Oh never mind, you must come aboard at once. We are under attack from the Incans!"

And with that their moment of peace was over.


End file.
